Verizon confirms: Wi-Fi calling is coming to iPhone ‘early next year’

U.S. carrier Verizon is indeed bringing Wi-Fi calling to Apple’s iOS mobile operating system, albeit a little later than we might have hoped.

Galaxy gets it first

Although we’d originally believed that support for Verizon’s Wi-Fi calling on iOS would be rolling out imminently, it seems owners of Samsung’s Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge are set to receive the feature before iOS users. In a press release send out yesterday, Verizon noted that Samsung’s handsets would receive support for Wi-Fi calling through a software update.

Wi-Fi Calling will initially be available on the Samsung Galaxy S 6 and Samsung Galaxy S 6 Edge and will be rolled out as a software update in phases.

However, it’s not all bad news for iPhone owners. Because in the same press release, Verizon added that support for iOS (and some additional Android-powered handsets) would arrive "early next year," though more precise details aren’t available at this time.

What’s the big deal?

Wi-Fi calling is definitely a desirable feature to have on your iPhone. It works by routing calls over Wi-Fi when cellular coverage is poor, allowing for an overall better calling experience.

So far, AT&T, Sprint, and T-Mobile support the feature in the United States. Verizon received allowance from the FCC to add the feature to its offerings a couple of weeks ago, prompting many of us to expect the imminent launch of Wi-Fi calling on Verizon’s network. Yet it now seems that we’ll have to wait until early 2016 before iOS users can access the feature on Verizon’s network.

Of course, we’ll keep you posted with further information as we receive it.